The invention relates to a process which can be used on an industrial scale for dynamically separating the enantiomers of piperidone derivatives of general formula (1) 
wherein R1, R2, R3, and n have the meanings given in the specification and claims, with simultaneous racemization in situ of the unreacted enantiomer.
Enantiomerically pure piperidone derivatives of general formula (1), wherein
R1 denotes 
R2 and R3 each denote a methyl group,
R4 denotes hydrogen, C1-C6-alkyl, halogen, hydroxy, C1-C8-alkoxy, a benzoyl group bound via an oxygen or an alkylcarbonyl group having a straight-chain or branched lower alkyl group with 1 to 6 carbon atoms, wherein the alkyl group may optionally be substituted by one or more halogen atom(s), which may be identical to or different from one another, nitro, cyano, amino, amino mono- or disubstituted by C1-C8-alkyl, wherein the alkyl groups may be identical or different, xe2x80x94NH-acyl-(C1-C8-alkyl), wherein acyl denotes benzoyl or an alkylcarbonyl group having a straight-chain or branched lower alkyl group with 1 to 6 carbon atoms, whilst the alkyl group may optionally be substituted by one or more halogen atom(s), which may be identical to or different from each other, or a group which may be converted into one of the abovementioned groups by simple reactions known per se, and
n denotes 1,
are of major importance as intermediate products for the preparation of pharmaceutically valuable benzomorphan derivatives which may be used, for example, in the treatment of neurodegenerative disorders and cerebral ischaemias such as cardiac infarct or cerebral stroke.
Processes for preparing enantiomerically enriched piperidone derivatives are known from the prior art. Published German application DE 195 28 472 describes a process which is essential to the invention, in which the desired enantiomer is precipitated from the solution of a mixture of enantiomeric 3,3-dimethyl-4-piperidones by reacting with a suitable organic acid, e.g., tartaric acid, as a salt, i.e., as the tartrate, for example. After separation of the crystals formed, the unwanted enantiomer contained in the mother liquor can be racemized by heating. After various purification processes and changes of the solvent, the desired enantiomer thus formed is again precipitated as described above and isolated. The process can be repeated several times.
This procedure known from the prior art makes it possible to increase the yield to 75%, i.e., to values which are significantly higher than the maximum yield of 50%, which is the maximum theoretical yield for racemate separation. This reduces the waste of materials and increases the efficiency of the synthesis.
The procedure disclosed in DE 195 28 472 comprising crystallization, separation of the crystals from the mother liquor, thermal re-racemization, crystallization, etc., however, is time-consuming and labor-intensive.
To reduce the extra work involved in purification and isolation and to save time and money, it is, particularly for large-scale industrial manufacture, desirable to have a process which carries out enantiomer separation as a dynamic one-pot process.
It is therefore the aim and problem of the present invention to overcome the disadvantages of the known process as described above by providing a process which can be used on an industrial scale, enabling the precipitation of the desired enantiomer and the racemization of the other enantiomer to be carried out in one step.
Surprisingly, it has now been found that the separation of enantiomeric piperidone derivatives and the racemization of the unwanted enantiomer can be carried out simultaneously in one and the same reaction vessel and in one reaction step. The disadvantages of the process known from the prior art can thereby be avoided and the advantage of having a yield of more than 50% for the racemate separation, however, is unaffected or this yield may even be increased.
Consequently, the present invention relates to a process suitable for use on an industrial scale for separating the enantiomers of piperidone derivatives of general formula (1) 
wherein
R1 denotes C1-C8-alkyl, preferably C1-C6-alkyl, which may be straight-chain or branched and is optionally mono- to polysubstituted by halogen, aryl, which may optionally be mono- to polysubstituted, preferably optionally substituted phenyl or naphthyl, particularly preferably a group of general formula 
xe2x80x83heteroaryl, preferably pyridine, wherein the heterocyclic group is linked to the chiral center by a carbon atom belonging to the ring or originating from the methylene bridge,
R2 and R3, which may be identical or different, denote C1-C6-alkyl, which may be straight-chain or branched, preferably methyl or ethyl, particularly preferably methyl;
R4 independently of one another denote methoxy, ethoxy, isopropyloxy, halogen, hydroxy, C1-C6-alkyl, which may be partially or fully halogenated, such as, e.g., trifluoromethyl, amino, nitro, cyano, benzoyl, C1-C6-alkylcarbonyl, preferably methoxy;
n denotes 0, 1, 2 or 3, preferably 1, and
m denotes 0, 1, 2 or 3, preferably 0 or 1,
by crystallization of the desired enantiomer as a salt of a suitable organic acid with simultaneous racemization of the dissolved enantiomer.
In the process according to the invention for obtaining one enantiomer from a mixture of enantiomers of a piperidone derivative (1) a solution of an optically active organic acid is placed in a suitable solvent at a certain temperature, optionally with the addition of catalytic amounts of a sulfonic acid, e.g., toluene- or camphorsulfonic acid. A solution of the mixture of enantiomers of the piperidone derivative (1) is slowly added to this temperature-controlled solution. The optically active organic acid, the solvent or mixture of solvents and the reaction temperature are selected so that the desired enantiomer of the piperidone derivative (1) crystallizes out as a salt of the optically active acid, whilst the other enantiomer remains in solution and racemizes under the reaction conditions. In this way, the desired enantiomer is constantly being formed and precipitated in a dynamic process until equilibrium is achieved.
The process according to the invention for dynamically separating the enantiomers of piperidone derivatives is thus characterized in that
(a) an optically active acid and optionally catalytic amounts of a sulfonic acid are dissolved in a suitable solvent and this solution is kept at a specific temperature,
(b) a solution of the piperidone derivative is slowly metered into this solution, so that the desired enantiomer crystallizes out as a salt of the organic acid used, while at the same time the unwanted isomer is racemized in solution and the content of desired enantiomer thus formed is also precipitated as a salt in a dynamic process, and
(c) the salt of the desired enantiomer is separated off after crystallization has ended.
Suitable organic acids for the precipitation of the desired enantiomer include, for example, (+)- or (xe2x88x92)-ditoluoyltartaric acid or (+)- or (xe2x88x92)-dibenzoyltartaric acid. If desired, the reaction may be carried out in the presence of catalytic amounts of p-toluenesulfonic acid or camphorsulfonic acid. The reaction may be carried out, for example, in solvents such as acetone, acetonitrile, methanol, ethanol, n-propanol, isopropanol, tert-butanol, ethyl acetate, water, toluene, methylcyclohexane, n-butyl acetate or mixtures thereof. Preferably, acetonitrile or acetone is used.
By general formula (1) 
is meant a racemic or optically active mixture of enantiomers which consists of the two enantiomeric piperidone derivatives of general formulae (1a) and (1b) 
A preferred process according to the invention is a process for isolating the enantiomer of general formula (1a) 
The (+)-piperidone (1a) is precipitated, for example, by reaction with (+)-ditoluoyltartaric acid or (+)-dibenzoyltartaric acid and thus concentrated. With (xe2x88x92)-ditoluoyltartaric acid or (xe2x88x92)-dibenzoyltartaric acid, on the other hand, the opposite enantiomer is obtained, namely the (xe2x88x92)-piperidone (1b).
Particularly preferred is a process for obtaining the (+)-piperidone derivative of general formula (1a), wherein:
R1 denotes 2-methoxyphenyl;
R2 and R3 each denote methyl; and
n denotes 1,
characterized in that the desired (R)-(+)-enantiomer is precipitated as the salt thereof by reacting with (+)-ditoluoyltartaric acid and at the same time, in the dissolved (S)-(xe2x88x92)-enantiomer, the chiral center is epimerized by heating to a temperature of about 30xc2x0 C.-75xc2x0 C., more preferably to 50xc2x0 C.-65xc2x0 C. The solvent used may be acetonitrile, acetone, or mixtures thereof, preferably acetonitrile.
Also preferred according to the invention is a process which leads to a piperidone of general formula (1a) or (1b) with an enantiomeric excess of xe2x89xa795% ee, more preferably xe2x89xa797% ee.
It is particularly preferred according to the invention to operate as follows: a mixture of the enantiomeric piperidone derivatives of general formula (1) is dissolved in an inert solvent, e.g., acetonitrile, and added slowly to a solution of a suitable tartaric acid derivative, preferably (+)-ditoluoyltartaric acid, in the same solvent, which has been heated to about 35xc2x0 C. to 75xc2x0 C., preferably to 50xc2x0 C. to 65xc2x0 C. Stirring is continued for a further 0.5 to 36 hours at the same temperature until there is no more precipitate being formed as far as the naked eye can tell. After cooling to ambient temperature, the crystals are suction filtered through a filter and the residue is washed with the cold solvent. After drying with gentle heating, the desired enantiomer is obtained in the form of the salt of the organic acid, from which the base can easily be liberated using known methods. The acid may be recovered in very good yields by simple extraction.
The separation of enantiomers of piperidone derivatives according to the invention by crystallization with simultaneous racemization of the unwanted enantiomer may be carried out starting from the free base of formula (1), which may also be used as the crude product containing up to 20% impurities, or starting from an acid addition salt precipitated to purify it, e.g., a hydrochloride or hydrobromide, after previous liberation of the base.
The high yield of 85% or more is certainly due to the following: the acidity of the acid used causes a racemization equilibrium to be achieved. Since the desired isomer is of low solubility as its salt, it is precipitated and is thus withdrawn from the equilibrium. By constant re-adjustment of the equilibrium, the mixture is finally converted almost entirely into the salt of the desired enantiomer which is of low solubility and is precipitated.
Unless otherwise stated, the terms listed below have the following meanings within the context of the present invention: the term alkyl, both on its own and in conjunction with other groups, denotes a straight-chain or branched alkyl group with the specified number of carbon atoms, such as, e.g., methyl, ethyl, n-propyl, isopropyl, n-butyl, tert-butyl, n-pentyl, or n-hexyl. Aryl denotes an aromatic hydrocarbon group having up to 10 carbon atoms, such as, for example, phenyl or naphthyl; heteroaryl denotes a mono- or bicyclic aromatic group having up to 10 ring atoms which comprises, in addition to carbon atoms, one or more heteroatom(s) which are selected independently of one another from among N, O, and S, such as, e.g., pyridine or furan. Halogen denotes fluorine, chlorine, or bromine.
The example which follows serves to illustrate one of the separation methods according to the invention, carried out by way of example, for obtaining enantiomerically pure piperidone derivatives of general formula (1). It should be regarded merely as a possible procedure, described by way of example, without restricting the invention to its contents.